Apparatus for handling bulk insulating material



June 1950 H. c. CHAMBERLIN 2,511,246

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING BULK INSULATING MATERIAL Filed March 14, 1947 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR. fifl/EEY C'. CHA MBERL/N ATTORNEY;

June 13, 1950 H. c. CHAMBERLIN 2,511,246

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING BULK INSULATING MATERIAL Filed March 14, 1947 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 13, 1950 H. c. CHAMBERLIN 2,511,246

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING BULK INSULATING MATERIAL Filed March 14, 1947 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. HARRY C'.CHAMBEI2LIN WM, WM

Av-TaRNEYs H. c. CHAMBERLIN APPARATUS FOR HANDLING BULK INSULATING MATERIAL Filed March 14, 1947 June 13, 1950 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 l i II\ A IT m .L N m M mm C Y, B m H BYJIQQM June 13, 1950 H. CHAMBERLIN APPARATUS FOR HANDLING BULK INSULATING MATERIAL v 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 14, 1947 Pic-15 INVENTOR. H4 Rev C. CHAMBERLIN June 13, 1950' N H, c. CHAMBERUN 2,511,246

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING BULK INSULATING MATERIAL Filed March 14, 1947 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 v v 1.97 [8/ 1.9.9 WLTAGEJTAB/LIZER g-onmmuwe 1 2A: 6 I p.4 75 SUPPLY ClECU/T I85 UPPER LIMIT SWITCH :o-vevaz) AUTOMATIC CONTROLJWIT FoRMoTaR g J66 FEEDER s4 k 75- l L. J

MANUAL STARTER 6 WIT C H FOE (UNI/E YOR LOWER LIMIT swrrcfl (colgvEYoE) uvwzzvrox. HAERYC'. Cf/AMBEEL IN AT az/yEYs Patented June 13, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR HANDLING BULK INSULATING MATERIAL 11 Claims.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in apparatus for handling bulk material, and more particularly to such an apparatus adapted for transporting and blowing insulating material, such as mineral or rock wool, into wall spaces and other places to be insulated.

Mineral or rock wool in granular form is now extensively used as an insulating medium in building construction, and particularly in older buildings which require insulation, because it may readily be blown into the spaces in old Walls and into other remote places by suitable equipment developed for that purpose.

Heretofore, it has been common practice to transport the rock wool or other insulating material from the source of supply to the building 'or job where it is to be used in an automotive truck, the insulating material being contained in large paper bags to facilitate handing. To thus bag the insulating material to facilitate transporting it from the source of supply to the consumer, or from one place to another, greatly adds to the cost of handling the insulating material as it requires labor to fill the bags, and also to load the filled bags onto trucks or into railroad cars, and again to unload the bags from the trucks or railroad cars.

It will thus be noted that with the method now commonly employed for handling insulating material to be blown into building walls, the filled bags frequently must be manually handled several times before they reach their destination from the source of supply. In addition to the labor required to thus handle the insulating material, valuable carrying space is lost as a result of the voids or empty spaces occurring between the bags when the latter are piled or loaded into a truck or box car. Then, too, the weight of the paper bags in which the insulating material is being transported materially reduces the weight of the pay load, because the weight of the empty bags, per se, in a carload of filled bags may amount to approximately four hundred pounds. Thus, the weight of the bags, independently of their contents, will reduce the weight of the pay load of the truck. In addition, a considerable saving is effected byeliminating the cost of the bags.

The present invention is directed primarily to an apparatus for handling bulk material such as rock wool and other similar materials, whereby the material may be handled in bulk form from the source of supply until delivered on the job and blown into wall spaces or other places where it is to be used.

An object of the invention, therefore, is to provide an improved apparatus for thus handling granular bulk rock wool and similar materials whereby the operation of handling the material at the source of supply and all along the line until eventually blown into a wall or other place on the job, may be accomplished with a minimum of labor and in considerable less time than has heretofore been possible with well known methods and apparatus now in use.

A further object is to provide in combination with a conventional automotive truck, a body whose walls define a container for receiving rock wool in bulk form and in which it is hauled from the source of supply to the job, and an unloading device being provided in the truck body or container, above the space occupied by the material contained therein, whereby the unloading device may be lowered into direct contact with the material and so operated as to gradually feed the material from the top of the load and discharge it from the rear end of the container in a highly aerated and fiuffy state, into a feeder or blower for blowing the material into the spaces of a building wall or into an attic, or other remote place.

A further object is to provide an apparatus of the class described comprising a container for receiving granular bulk rock wool, said container having a horizontal conveyer therein, the width and length of which are substantially equal to the width and length of the container, and means being provided for vertically translating the conveyer in the truck body or container whereby the conveyer may be elevated to a, position adjacent the top wall of the container, when the latter is being filled with insulating material from a suitable storage bin or box car, after which the conveyer may be lowered into direct contact with the top of the load and operated to discharge the material from the top of the load into one or more suitable feeders provided at the rear of the truck body for receiving the rockwool from the conveyer, said feeders being provided with suitable flexible service hoses or conduits for conducting the insulating material from the feeders to the wall spaces or other places into which it is to be blown by air pressure.

A further object is to provide an improved apparatus for handling granular bulk rock or mineral wool whereby such material to be blown into a wall space or other remote place may be handled entirely in bulk form, including the hauling or transporting of the material to the 3 job, and the subsequent blowing of the material into the wall spaces to be filled therewith.

A further and more specific object is to provide an apparatus for handling rock wool in granular bulk form comprising a container for receiving the rock wool and in which the rock wool is transported from the source of supply to the job, and one or more feeders being mounted on the rear and underneath the truck body, and means being provided within the container for unloading the material from the container and delivering it to said feeders, and suitable safety devices being provided in conjunction with said feeders for automatically reducing the rate of discharge of the material from the truck thereto, in the event the service lines or hose become momentarily clogged, or partially so.

A further object is to provide in combination with a conventional truck chassis a suitable body whose walls define a container for receiving bulk rock wool, and a horizontally disposed conveyer being mounted within the container and suspended from the upper portion thereof above the material and having a driving connection with a suitable motor whereby said horizontal conveyer may be operated to discharge the rock wool from the top of the load into a chute adjacent to the rear end of the container, and the lower end of which communicates with on or more pneumatically operated feeders operated independently of the horizontal conveyer and provided with overload safety devices, whereby should one or more of the feeders momentarily become overloaded, said overload devices will automatically effect a reduction in the speed of the drive mot-or for the elevator without effecting the operation of the pneumatic feeders, whereby the feeding rate of the material to the feeders is automati cally reduced to thereby permit th obstruction in the service lines or hose to be quickly eliminated, usually without having to interrupt the operation of the feeders.

A further object is to provide an apparatus of the class described comprising a container for transporting bulk insulating material from a source of supply to the job, and a horizontally disposed conveyer being mounted within the container and having means for vertically translatingit in said container, th conveyer being so arranged within the container or truck body as to r rear of the container or truck body, which chute directs the material to one or more pneumatically operated feeders each provided with a hose line for conducting the insulating material, under air pressure, from the feeders into wall spaces or other remote places, and electrical means being provided for automatically causing the conveyer to come to rest, when it reaches the limit of its upward travel, and in which position of the conveyer, the container may readily be loaded; and similar means being provided for automatically interrupting the downward trawl of the conveyer when the material has be n unloaded from the container.

A further object of the invention, therefore, is to provide an apparatus of the class described, provided with manual and automatic controls whereby its operation may readily be controlled by a single operator.

Other objects of the invention reside in the unique mounting of the horizontal conveyer in the container or truck body; in the construction of th rear wall of the container which consists of a plurality of telescoping plates or gates which are operatively connected to the conveyor and are movable thereby, as the conveyer is vertically translated within th container or truck body; in the unique arrangement of the drive for the conveyer whereby th operation of elevating the conveyer to its uppermost position ma be quickly accomplished, when the load has been discharged from the container; in the provision of upper and lower limit switches for limiting the up and down travel of the horizontal conveyer, and whereby the circuit to the drive motor for th conveyer is automatically opened whenever the conveyer reaches its limits of travel in either direction; and in the unique construction of the feeders which may be driven from a source of power carried by the truck, each feeder being provided with a pneumatically operated safety device for automatically closing or partially closing the gates provided in the legs directing the insulating material into'the feeders from the chute at the rear of the container, whereby should the service line or hose of one or both of the feeders become temporarily partially clogged, and caus a back pressure to develop in the feeder, said back pressure will actuate the safety device of the momentarily clogged feeder and thereby effect the automatic closing of its gate, whereby the flow of material to said feeder is automatically cut off or temporarily interrupted, and without interrupting the supply of air to the feeder service hose, whereby th pressure in the service hose may automatica'lly clear the hose of its obstruction without interrupting the operation of the entire apparatus; in the provision and. arrangement of the electric control means for the horizontal conveyer, which includes a manually operable starter switch, and suitable limit switches for automatically stopping the traveling movement of the conveyer, when it reaches the limit of its travel in either direction independently of the operator, and electrically operable means made operable by the pneumatically operated safety devices of the feeders for automatically interposing a resistance in the conveyer drive motor circuit to thereby reduce the speed of said motor and therefore the feeding rate of the conveyer; and in the simple and inexpensive construction of the apparatus, as a whole, whereby it readily lends itself to manufacture in quantity production at low cost.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the following description and the accompanying drawings and will be pointed out in the annexed claims. a

In the accompanying drawings there has been disclosed a structure designed to carry out the various objects of the invention, but it is to be understood that the invention is not confined to the exact features shown, as various changes may be made within the scope of the claims which follow.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through the apparatus showing it mounted on a conventional truck body, th telescoping plates or sections of the rear wall of the container being shown in their forward positions;

Figure 2 is an enlarged detail sectional view substantially on the line 2--2 of Figure 5, showing the pneumatic feeders and the pressure actuated means for automatically shutting off the supply of material to the feeders, should the service lines therefrom become momentarily clogged, or partially so;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1, on a larger scale, showing the telescoping plates or sections of the rear container wall in the positions assumed when discharging rock wool from the apparatus;

Figure 4 is a detail sectional view substantially on the line 44 of Figure 2, showing the means for driving the conveyer;

Figure 5 is a detail sectional view substantially on the line 5-5 of Figure 3; and

Figure 6 is a wiring diagram schematically illustrating the various electric control devices for automatically controlling the operation of the apparatus.

In the selected embmliment of the invention herein disclosed, there is illustrated in Figure 1, a portion of a conventional automotive truck including the usual chassis 2, rear Wheels 3, and cab 4. Mounted on the chassis back of the cab 4 is a load-carrying body, generally indicated by the numeral 5, which comprises a bottom wall 6, front wall 1, side walls 8 and 9, and a top wall I I. The rear end of the body 5 may be open as shown at l2, but may be closed by provision of a suitable closure not shown, if so desired. The Walls 6, 7, 8, 9 and of said body, cooperate to provide a container for receiving granular bulk material such as mineral or rock wool, indicated at l3 in Figures 1 and 3 of the drawings.

An important feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a horizontally disposed conveyer within the container or truck body for unloading the bulk material therefrom. This conveyer, generally designated by the numeral I4, is best shown in Figures 1, 3 and 5 and comprises a pair of spaced endless chains I5 and Hi having running connections with sprockets l1 and 8 provided, respectively, at the front and rear of the container. The sprockets I! are secured to a shaft l9 rotatably supported in suitable bearings 2| provided in spaced channel-like side members 22 and 23 which constitute the supporting frame of the conveyer.

The sprockets l8 at the rear end of the conveyer are secured to a cross shaft 24 mounted in suitable bearings 25 secured to the rear ends of the side frame members 22 and 23 of the conveyer. Thus the shafts 9 and 24 cooperate with the side frame members 22 and 23 to complete the formation of the conveyer frame.

A plurality of angle-like slats 26 are secured to the chains l5 and IS, in spaced relation, as clearly illustrated in Figures 3 and 5. These slats have serrated or tooth-like edges 2|] adapted to engage the insulating material in the container, when the conveyer is lowered into direct contact therewith, as shown in Figures 1 and 3. The forward end of the conveyer is shown suspended from an overhead support 2'! by suitable cables 28 and 29 having running connections with sheaves 3| supported in brackets secured to the support 21. The rear end portion of the conveyer is similarly suspended by suitable cables 32 and 33 having running connections with sheaves 34 mounted in suitable brackets secured to the support 21. From the sheaves 3| and 34, the cables Pass over a plurality of guide sheaves 35 mounted on a frame member 36 having its end portions secured to upright frame members 3'! and 38, as best shown in Figure 4. The lower ends of the frame members 31 and 38 may be secured to a suitable cross member 39.

Secured to the frame members 36 to 39, inclusive, is a suitable plate 4| having a filler opening 42 therein adjacent to its upper end to facilitate loading the container or body by inserting a filler hose through said opening, as indicated by the dotted lines 43 in Figure 1. Thus the frame members 35 to 39, inclusive, and the plate 4| cooperate to provide a suitable supporting structure for the rear end of the truck body for supporting the driving means for the conveyer, which will subsequently be described.

From the idler sheaves 35, the cables 32, 28, 29, and 33 extend downwardly and have their lower ends secured to a suitable connecting block of member 44 having one end of an operating cable 45 secured thereto which passes downwardly around an idler drum 46 and has its opposite end coiled about and secured to a winding drum 41, one end of which is shown supported in a bracket 48 and the opposite end of which is operatively connected to a suitable speed reducer 49. The speed reducer 43 is shown provided with a shaft 5| upon which pulleys 52 and 53 are mounted. The speed reducer 49 is shown driven from a countershaft 54 through one or the other of a pair of belts 55 and 55, as will subsequently be described.

The belt 55 provides a driving connection between the pulley52 of the speed reducer and a relatively larger pulley 51 secured to the countershaft 54, and the belt 55 provides a driving connection between the relatively larger pulley 53 of the speed reducer and a smaller pulley 58, also secured to the countershaft 54. The countershaft is driven from a motor 59 through a belt 6| having driving connections with the motor pulley 62 and a pulley 63 secured to the countershaft 54. The speed reducer 49 and motor 59 are shown mounted directly upon the rear plate 4|, and the countershaft 54 is shown supported in bearings 54 and 65 secured to the frame structure provided by the frame members 21 and plate 4|.

Secured to the outer end of the countershaft 54 is a pulley 66 having a belt 61 engaged therewith which also has running connections with a pulley 68 secured to one end of a shaft 55 of a suitable screw type conveyer H, best shown in Figure 4. From the pulley 68 the belt 51 extends upwardly and has a running connection with a pulley 12 secured to one end of the cross shaft 24 of the horizontal conveyer M, as perhaps best illustrated in Figure 5. The belt 61' also has a running connection with a pulley 13 supported on an arm 14 mounted for pivotal movement upon a pivot l5. A suitable spring it has one end secured to the arm 74 and its opposite end to a fixed part of the frame, whereby the spring constantly exerts an upward pull on the arm 14 to maintain the belt 6'! under tension during the up and down travel of the horizontal conveyer H.

To prevent the insulating material in the container from coming in contact with the driving means for the conveyer l4, the pulleys 56, 68, 12 and 13 are mounted between the side wall 8 and an inner wall member or plate 30 having its forward edge secured to the wall 8, as shown at 40 in Figure 5, and having its intermediate and rear portions spaced inwardly from the side Wall 8, thereby to provide a space between it and the rear portion of the side wall 8 in which to house the pulleys 66, 58, I2 and i3, and the belt 61. A vertically disposed slot or opening 55 is shown provided in the plate 30 to allow for the vertical travel of the shaft 24 of the horizontal conveyer I4. See Figure 2.

Another important feature of the invention resides in the construction of the rear wall of the container, generally designated by the numeral H. as best shown in Figure 3, the rear wall 'l'i is composed of a plurality of telescoping plate sections f8, each provided with an upper horizontally disposed flange 79. The plates 38 are interconnected by a plurality of rods 3i whereby they may telescope, as indicated for example, at 8 2 in Figure 3, as the coinveyer gradually descends in the operation of unloading the material from the container.

To support the rear wall ll of the container, the uppermost telescoping plate section 83 thereof is shown. having its end portions fixedly secured to the side frame members 22 and 23 of the conveyor M by suitable opposed brackets 84, whereby the upper telescoping plate 83 will move up and down directly with the conveyor M, as will be understood. Thus the rear wall sections 18 are telescopically supported, one from the other by the rods ill. The upper telescoping plate 83 also provides a substantial tie between the'side frame members 22 and 23 of the supporting frame of the conveyer I l.

The composite wall formed by the telescoping plates 18 and 83 is mounted for limited swinging movement, as will be noted by reference to Figures 1 and A plurality of pressure bars 65 are supported from suitable pivots 96 mounted in brackets 8'! secured to the upper portion of the supporting frame of the struture, asbest shown in Figure 3. A lever 88 is pivotally mounted. on the plate 51' and has operative connections with the upright bars 85 whereby when the lever is swung downwardly to the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 2, the telescoping plate sections '38 will be forwardly to close the gap 89, which may be provided between the mass of insulating material in the container and the plate sections '18, when the latter are swung outwardly to the full line position shown in Figure 3. When so positioned, the plates l8 may readily telescope as the conveyor gradually descends in the. operation of unload-in the. material from the container.

The plate ll, it will be noted by reference to Figure 3 is shownspaced outwardly from the rear sectional wall it of the. container thereby to pro vide. a chute 2! into which the material is discharged from the top of the load by the conveyor M, when the latter is in operation. During the unloadin of the material from the container, the rear wall ll of the container is preferably in the position shown in Figure 3, but not necessarily so. The characteristics of rock wool are usually such. that it does not readily flow into a small space whereby when the wall 1'! is swung outwardly as shown in Figure 3, agap is provided betweenv itand the adjacent surface of the insulating material. The lower end of the chute 9| terminates in abottom. wall 92 having a, discharge spout 9-3- leading therefrom to a pair of feeders E i and 85, shown in Figures 2 and 3.

The screw type conveyor ll, previously referred to, is mounted in the bottom of the chute 9i and comprises opposed sections whereby the spiral vanes at the two conveyer sections will simultaneously feed the insulating material in an inward direction towards the discharge spout 93, as indicated by the arrows in Figure 4. A suitable stop 96 isshown provided at the lower end of the chute 9:! for limiting the inward swinging movement of the plates 78 of the rear wall ll. Thefeeders 94 and. 95 are shown supported upon a platform suspended from the chassis frame '2 of the truck, as clearly illustrated in Figure 2.

The discharge spout 93 connecting the conveyer H with the feeders 9d and 95 is split or divided to provide angularly disposed legs 98 and 99 leading respectively to the feeders 94 and 95, as best indicated in Figure 2. The feeders 9 land 95 may be of conventional construction and therefore need not be described in further detail. The feeder 94 is shown driven from a countershaft [Ell by a flexible drive I99, and the feeder 95 is shown driven from the feeder 94 by a belt drive B02. Thus the feeders operate simultaneously when the apparatus is in operation. The countershaft is! is shown having a pulley 1533 secured thereto which has a belt 5% connecting it to a pulley 195 provided on a suitable prime mover or power device, such as an internal combustion engine, generally indicated by the numeral Hit.

The engine 565 may also drive a compressor or air pump, indicated by the numeral lt'l. The blower or compressor Hilmay be arranged to deliver air into a receiving tank, generally indicated by the numeral Hi3, shown provided with a suitable pressure relief valve N39. The tank I93 has a conduit H l connecting it with the feeder 9d, and a similar conduit H2 delivers air to the feeder 9 5 from the tank The tank 599' serves as an expansion tank to equalize the air pres sure in the conduits l I! and H2 connecting it to the feeders 94 and 95.

The usual feeders 3 and are shown provided with connections H3 and H4 to which the usual service hose or lines 5 l5 and H6 may be connected, as shown in Figure 1. The hose or service lines life and lit conduct the insulating material from the feeders to the wall spaces or other .laces to be insulated, by pressure, as is well known in the art.

Another important feature of the present invention resides in the means provided for preventing overloading of the feeders St and 95, which may occur at times should the usual hoses and nozzles provided at the ends of the service hose or lines become clogged, as when delivering insulating material into wall spaces which may be about filled. To thus prevent overloading of the feeders, means is provided for automatically reducing the flow of insulating material to one or both feeders in the event that an obstruction ccurs in one orboth of the service hose H5 and H6.

To thus interrupt the supply of insulating material to the feeders, gates ii; and its are provided respectively in the legs Fih and 99 of the spout 93. These gates are normally retained in open positions and are closed automatically by back pressure which may develop in their respective feeders in the event that the service hose from one or both of the feeders become partially clogged.

The gate H! of feeder 94 is shownsecured to a shaft I 19 mounted for rocking movement in the walls of the leg 93. An arm i2! is secured to the shaft H9 exteriorly of the leg 96 and is shown having a link H22 connecting the free end thereof to a piston rod; I23 of a piston I24 mounted for reciprocal movement within a suitable air cylinder I25. A conduit 526 has one end connected with the upper end of the cylinder I25 and its lower end is in communication with the air conduit I H which supplies air under pressure to the feeder 94. The operating mechanism for gate H8 of feeder 95 is constructed in a manner substantially similar: to the. operating. mechanism of feeder 94, and the parts thereof will therefore be referred to by like numerals.

However, to simplify the description of the operation of the apparatus, the cylinders I25 of the feeders 94 and 95, and their associated parts will hereinafter be referred to as pneumatic gate control devices I20 and I30, respectively. The cylinder I25 of feeder 95 has one end of a conduit I21 connected thereto, the opposite end of which is connected to the air conduit II2 connecting the feeder 95 with the pressure tank I08.

By thus inter-connecting the cylinder I25 with the air supply conduits II I and I I2 of the feeders 94 and 95, when one or both of the service hose or lines H5 and III; become overloaded, or partially clogged, the back pressure which may develop in the feeder of the partially clogged hose will actuate its piston I24 and move it downwardly in a direction to close the control gate in the leg of the clogged or overloaded feeder, as shown for example, at the left-hand side of Figure 2. In this figure it will be noted that the piston I24 of the gate II! of the pneumatic control device I20 has been forced downwardly into closed position, whereas gate II8 of the other control device I30 is in wide open position.

For example, should the service line II5 of feeder 94 begin to clog or become overloaded, then the gate II! of said feeder will gradually move towards its closing position until the switch I28 is eventually opened, whereupon a resistance is interposed in the circuit of the motor 59 which will reduce the speed of the motor and therefore the speed of the conveyer I4, as will subsequently be described. Such reduction in the speed of the conveyer will be sufficient to reduce the delivery of insulating material to the overloaded feeder so that its service line I I5 may be quickly cleared of the obstruction as a result of the constant air pressure delivered to the feeder from the pressure tank I08, regardless of the rate of feed of the material to the feeder.

To thus automatically reduce the speed of the horizontal conveyer I4 in the event of an overload or partial clogging of one of the service lines, a pair of control switches, generally designated by the numerals I28 and I29 are mounted on the cylinders I25 of the pneumatic control devices I20 and I30, respectively, as shown in Figure 2. These switches are of well known construction and therefore need not be described in detail. Each comprises a control lever or element I3I, shown having an operative connection with a piston rod I32 secured to a post I33 mounted on the piston rods I23 of the pistons I24 of the two control devices. The switches I28 and I29 are adapted to be opened and closed by the actuation of the control elements I3I thereof, as will next be described.

As shown in this Figure 2, eachswitch operating rod I32 is provided with spaced abutments I34 and I35, and a suitable clevis or yoke I36 has its spaced legs straddling the arm I2I and connected together by a suitable pin having an antifriction roller I37 mounted thereon which travels back and forth on the adjacent edge of the arm I2I, giving a snap action. When the parts are operated, a suitable spring I38 has one end connected to the clevis I36 and its opposite end to a rod or screw I39, adjustably mounted in a bracket MI.

The parts I2I, I22 and I23 of each pneumatic control device I20 or I30, are so interconnected that when said parts are in their normal gateopening positions, as shown with respect to control device I30 in Figure 2, the link I22 will be substantially axially aligned with the piston rod I23. When, however, a back pressure develops, say in the feeder 94, such back pressure is transferred to the cylinder I25 of control unit I20 and thereby causes its piston I24 to move forwardly against the tension of the spring I38. The initial movement of the piston rod I23 will have no effect upon the. switch I3I because of the abutment I42 of the rod I32 being initially spaced from the switch operating element I3 I.

B referring to the pneumatic control devices I20 and I30 in Figure 2, it will be noted that when the pistons I24 are in their normal inoperative positions, the clevis, I34 engaged with the arms l2I will be positioned adjacent to the lugs or abutments I35 at the outer ends of the arms I2I, whereby the springs will exert their maximum pull on said arms.

When one of the feeders as, for example, feeder 94 begins to clog or becomes overloaded, the back pressure developing in smd feeder will cause its piston I24 to move forwardly, and when the arm I2I reaches a certain position in the forward travel of the piston, the anti-friction roller I31 of the clevis will shift to a position against the stop lug I34 of the arm I2I, as shown in the pneumatic control device I20 in Figure 2. Such action will permit the piston I24 to be quickly moved forwardly to the limit of its movement, thereby closing the gate I l! and at the same time opening the switch I28 by a snap-action. As soon as the overload on the feeder 94 has been relieved, the piston I24 of the control device I20 will return to its normal position by the action of the spring I38, and at the same time the switch I28 will close and thereby cut out the resistance momentarily introduced in the motor circuit during the period the feeder 94 was overloaded. The feeder then resumes its normal feeding operation.

Another important feature of the invention resides in the combined electric and manual control provided for simplifying the operation of the apparatus and whereby the traveling movement of the horizontal conveyer in either direction will be automatically interrupted, whenever the conveyer reaches the limit of its travel in either direction.

To thus control the up and down travel of the horizontal conveyer I4, suitable limit switches, generally designated by the numerals I43 and I44 are interconnected in the control circuit. These switches may be located on one of the side walls of the container, or on some other suitable support, and may be actuated by a pin I45 carried by one of the bearings supporting the shaft 24, as indicated in Figure 2. The switches I43 and I44 are of well known construction, and therefore need not be described in detail.

In Figure 6 there is illustrated a wiring diagram showing the electrical connections between the various control elements. The conveyer drive motor 59 for the horizontal conveyer I4 is shown provided with three wires, I 45, I47, nd 449. In the wiring diagram the feeder control switch I23 is shown provided with dual fixed contacts 549 and I5I, normally electrically engaged with complemental movable contacts I52 and I 53. The control switch I29 of feeder is shown provided with similar dual fixed contacts I54 and i555 which normally are engaged with compleinental movable contacts I56 and I51, respectively. The movable contacts I52 and l53 of the control switch I28 of feeder 94 are tied together for simultaneous operation by a connection a, and the corresponding contacts I58 and I51 of switch I29 are tied together by a similar connection a. A wire I58 connects together the contacts I49 and .455 of the control switches I28 and I29. The wire I46 leading from the motor 59 is shown connected to the cross wire I58.

Contacts I! and I54 of the control switches I28 and I29, respectively, are connected together by a wire I59, and a wire I6I connects together the contacts I56 and I51 of the control switch I29. The lower limit switch I43 of the conveyer I4 is shown comprising a fixed contact I82 and a movable contact I63, and the upper limit switch I44 is shown comprising a fixed contact I84 and a movable contact I65. The movable contacts I63 and I65 of the two limit switches are electrically connected together by a wire I66 and a second wire I61 leads from the movable contact I65 of the upper limit switch 144 to one end of a suitable resistor, generally designated by the numeral I68. The opposite end of resistor I88 is connected to the wire I59 and a wire I69 is shown connecting the resistor I68 and wire I61 to the contact I53 of the control switch I28.

A similar resistor I1I is shown having one end electrically connected to the wire I59 and its opposite end to a wire I12 which electrically connects the resistor I H to the contact l52 of control switch I28. A wire I13 also connects the resistor I1! to the contact I56 of control switch I29. The fixed contact I62 of the lower limit switch I43 has a connection I14 with a wire I15, one end of which is shown connected to a contact I16 of a manually operable control switch, generally designated by the numeral I11. The opposite end of the wire I is shown connected to a fixed contact I18 of a suitable circuit conditioning switch, generally designated by the numeral I19. The switch I19 also comprises a fixed contact I8I and a movable contact I82, the movable contact being alternately engageable with the contacts I18 and I81 depending upon the position of the horizontal conveyer in its travel. The contact I8I of the control switch I19 has .a wire I83 connecting it to a movable contact I84 of the manually operable switch I11. The second fixed contact I85 of the switch I11 has a wire I86 connecting it to the fixed contact I64 of the upper limit switch I44.

To control the up and down travel of the horizontal conveyer I4, it is necessary to reverse the flow of current to the motor when the horizontal conveyer reaches the limit of its travel in either direction. To accomplish this, a suitable motorreversing switch is incorporated in the manual control switch I11, and is simultaneously operable by manipulation of the control lever I81 to automatically reverse the flow of current to the motor, depending upon the position of the control lever I81 of the control switch I11.

The motor-reversing switch may be any well known type suitable for the purpose, and is shown comprising fixed contacts I88 and I89 and a movable contact I9! which may .be operatively connected to an operating bar or member I92 to which the movable contact I84 of the switch I11 is also shown connected, as best illustrated in Figure 6.

The wire I41 of the motor is connected to the fixed contact I88 of the motor reversing switch, and the wire I48 of the motor is connected to the other fixed contact I89 of said switch. The movable contact I9I has a wire I93 connecting it to one side of a Voltage stabilizer, generally designated by the numeral I94, the other side of which is adapted for connection to a suitable source of electric current by suitable wires I95 and I96. A suitable cut-out switch I91 may be interposed in the wires I95'ancl I96 to shut oif the supply of current to the apparatus when desired. A second Wire I98 connects the voltage stabilizer with the movable contact I82 of the control switch I19, as shown in Figure 6.

By referring to Figures 2 and 6 it will be noted that the pivoted arm 14 which carries the pulley 13 of the belt 81 has an operative connection with the movable contact I82 of the circuit conditioning switch I19, as shown at I99 in Figure 6, whereby the movable contact I82 may be moved from one position to another between the two contacts I18 and I8I by swinging movement of the arm 14.

Operation In the operation of the novel apparatus herein disclosed, the horizontal conveyer I4 is elevated to the dotted and full line positions indicated at A in Figures 1 and 2, and the lever 88 may then be swung downwardly to the position shown in Figure 1, whereupon the pressure bars 85 are moved forwardly to swing the rear sectional wall 11 into the position shown in Figure 1, thereby closing the gap 89. When the conveyer is in position A, a filler hose 43 may be inserted into the container or interior of the truck body below the horizontal conveyer I4, the filler hose being inserted between the uppermost fixed plate 83 of the telescoping wall sections of the rear wall 11 of the truck body and the conveyer I4, as indicated by dotted lines 43 in Figure 1. It is to be understood that adequate space is provided between the uppermost edge of the telescoping plate 83 and slats or cross bars 28 of the conveyer to readily permit a filler hose to be inserted therebetween for filling the truck.

After the container or truck body has been filled to capacity, which may readily and conveniently be accomplished by blowing the material into the truck body from the conduit 43, whose intake end is connected to a suitable'suc- =tion device for drawing the granular insulating material from a suitable storage bin or box car and delivering it into the truck by air pressure, the loaded truck is driven to the job or building to be supplied with insulation, and the feeders may then be set into motion by starting the engine I86 which will immediately force a blast of air through the service lines or hoses H5 and H6 in the usual manner. Immediately following the starting of the feeders 94 and 95, the operator may shift the lever 88 into the position shown in Figure 3, whereby the pressure against the telescoping wall sections or plates by the rock wool is released so that the plate sections 18 may readily telescope, as the elevator descends during the unloadin of the contents from the truck body or container into the chute 9| provided at the rear end of the truck.

To start the horizontal elevator I4, the operator shifts the control lever I81 of the manual starting switch into its Down position, whereupon current will fiow from the wire I96 of the supply circuit through the voltage stabilizer I94 and wire I98 to the movable contact I82 of the circuit conditioning switch I19. The movable contact I82 being in electrical engagement with the fixed contact 118, will direct the current through the wires I15 and I14, contacts I62 and I63 of the lower limit switch I43, and thence through the wires I66, I61 and 169, contacts I53 13 and II', wire I59, contacts'l54 and I56, wire IGI, contacts I 5? and I55, thence through wires I58 and I46 to the motor 59.

From the motor 59 the current will flow through the wire I 48 to the fixed contact I89 of the motor reverse switch, thence through the movable contact I9I of said switch and through the wire I93 back to the voltage stabilizer, thereby completing the circuit to the motor 59 and causing the latter to start and thereby drive the belt 61 and conveyer it, as will be understood by reference to Figures 2 and 4. The downward travel of the conveyor i4 is controlled by the speed of the motor 59 through the speed. reducer 49, and is so regulated that it will feed the insulating material from the container over the top edge of the uppermost telescoping wall member 93 and into the chute 91 across the entire width of the container.

It will be noted by reference to Figure 5' that the cross members or slats 26 of the conveyer I4 have their ends extending outwardly beyond the frame members 22 and 23, and the edges of said cross members are serrated or provided with saw teeth as shown at 25, whereby said cross members may readily pick up or scrape the rock wool off the top of the body of wool contained in the truck body and discharge it into the chute 9i as will readily be understood by reference to Figures 1 and 3. By thus scraping the material off the top of the load, the material is delivered into the chute 9! in a loose, fluffy state, and from whence it is blown into the wall spaces. This is a highly desirable feature as it assures the operator that the rock wool, when deposited in the wall spaces, will have a maximum number of air cells therein, highly essential to obtain maximum insulating qualities. In addition when the insulating materal is blown into the wall spaces in such a highly aerated condition, less material is required to fill a given space, with a resultant reduction in the cost of each job.

The insulating material is precipitated into the bottom of the chute 9! by the conveyer I4 where it is engaged by the spiral conveyer II and conveyed inwardly to the discharge spout 93,, from whence it flows into the supply legs 98 and 99 of the feeders 9% and 95, respectively, as will be understood.

In the normal operation of the apparatus and during the unloading of the insulating material from the truck body, the manual starter switch ill will remain in' its Down position to retain the motor circuit in closed or motor-operating condition, as hereinbefore described. As the conveyer approaches the limit of its downward movement, the pin I45 will engage the movable contact of the lower limit switch I43 and thereby actuate said switch and .break the circuit to the wire I95, whereupon the supply of current to the motor is partially cut off. The motor 59 will then come to rest and therefore the conveyer I4 and its driving mechanism. The feeders 94 and 95, however, continue to operate until the engine I05 is shut off, as the engine preferably operates independently of the conveyer drive motor 59.

When the container or truck body has been emptied of its contents, as above described, the horizontal elevator I4 must be elevated to the dotted line position A, shown in Figure 1, before the truck body or container can again be loaded. To expedite the operation of elevating the conveyer I4, means 15 provided whereby said conveyer may be quickly elevated from its lowermost position shown in dotted lines in Figure 2, to its uppermost position A, assumed when loading the truck. To thus quickly elevate the conveyer from its lower to its upper position, the belt 56, shown in Figure 4, is rendered inoperative, which may readily be accomplished by removing the belt 56 from its pulleys 53 and 58, or by releasing the pulley 58 from the shaft 54, and then rendering the belt 55 operable to drive the speed ree ducer.

In other words, by referring to Figure 4, it will be noted that two belt drives are shown between the countershaft 54 and the shaft 5| of the speed reducer. The belt drive 55 serves to drive the speed reducer at a relatively higher speed, as when elevating the conveyer I4, and the belt drive 55 serves to drive the speed reducer at a relatively lower speed, as when gradually moving the conveyer downwardly in the operation of .unloading the material from the truck body to the feeders 94 and 95. Consequently, the two belt drives '55 and 55 cannot transmit power to the speed reducer at the same time, and, therefore, they are utilized alternately.

When unloading the material from the container or truck body, the downward speed of the horizontal conveyer I4 is relatively slow, and therefore the speed reducer is driven from the power shaft 54 by the belt drive 59, as above stated, the belt 55 being either removed from its pulleys, or if desired, the pulley 51 maybe released from the countershaft 59 so that it may idle on said shaft.

On the other hand, when the load has been removed from the truck body and the elevator is to be elevated to its uppermost or loading position, the belt 55 is rendered operative to drive the speed reducer, and the belt 58 is then rendered inoperative by removing it from its pulley, or by releasing the pulley 58 from the shaft 54, in a manner similar to the pulley 51 of the belt 55. Thus, the winding drum 4'! is provided with two speeds, one for elevating the conveyer, and a relatively slower speed for lowering the conveyer during the unloading operation.

Before the elevator can be elevated to its uppermost position, the belt 91 must be removed from the idler pulley I3, shown in the upper right-hand corner of Figure 2, to thereby permit the spring I9 to swing the arm 14 upwardly and thereby cause the movable contact I82 of the circuit conditioning switch I79 to be moved into electrical engagement with the fixed contact I8I by the spring '56. This is necessary in order that a circuit may be established to the motor, when the lever I87 of the manual starter switch I1? is moved upwardly into the Up position. So long as the elevator is in its lowermost position, the circuit is broken through the contacts of the lower limit switch I43.

It will thus be seen that before the motor can be started to elevate the conveyer to its upper position, the control circuits must be so conditioned that when the manual control lever I 81 is shifted to its Up position, the circuit to the motormay be completed or closed to operate the motor 59. Such conditioning of the control circuit if effected by the automatic shifting of the movable contact I82 of the circuit conditioning switch I19 into electrical engagement with the fixed, contact I8I, when the belt 61 is manually removed from the pulley I3 prior to starting the conveyor. I4 in its upward travel.

Thus, when the manual starter switch .I'I'I is 15 shifted to its Up position shown in Figure 6, the movable contact I84 thereof will bridge the contact I85, and, at the same time, its movable contact II will bridge the fixed contact I88. This will cause the current to flow from the wire E98 through the movable contact I82, fixed contact I 'BI, through the wire I83 to the movable contact I84 of the manual control switch I"; thence from the fixed contact I85, wire I86, closed contacts ltd and IE5 of the upper limit switch 544, wires I6! and IE9, contacts I53 and I5I of the switch I28, wire I59, contacts I54 and I55 of switch I29, wire I6I, and through the other contacts I5! and 55 of switch I29; thence through wires I58 and I45 to the motor, and from the motor through the wire I41 to the fixed contact I88 of the motor reversing switch.

Such manipulation of the manual starting switch will start the motor 59 in a direction to elevate the conveyer, and when the conveyer reaches the limit of its upward travel, it will automatically open the upper limit switch I44 and thereby again automatically open the circuit to the motor 55. Before the motor can again be manually started, the belt 67 must be engaged with the pulley 13 to thereby swing the arm 74 downwardly to cause the movable contact I82 of the circuit conditioning switch I79 to bridge the fixed contact I78.

The above describes the normal up and down movement of the conveyer required in the operation of loading and unloading the container or truck body. In the event that an obstruction should occur in one of the service lines or hose H5 or IIB, say, for example, service line II5 of feeder 94, than a back pressure will immediately develop in its air supply conduit III, which will be transmitted to the cylinder I25 by the conduit H5. Such pressure against the piston I24 will actuate the piston rod I23 whereby it may eventually be moved forwardly to the position shown in Figure 2, thereby closing the gate II! to the leg 98 of the feeder 94. Such closing of the gate Ill will immediately interrupt further supply of insulating material to the feeder 94,

whereupon the continued air pressure in the service hose I I5 may eventually blow out or clear the obstruction in the hose, whereupon the back pressure in the cylinder I25 is released, allowing the piston I24 to be returned to its normal position by the spring I35, thereby returning the gate II? to open position and permitting the feeder 55 to resume its normal feeding operation.

During the interval that the gate II! is closed, the speed of the motor 59 may be reduced to approximately 50 per cent of its normal speed thereby to reduce the speed of the conveyer I4 whereby the delivery of material into the chute BI is correspondingly decreased. Such automatic reduction in the operation of the motor is effected by the automatic opening of the switch contacts I52 of the switch I28 mounted on the cylinder I25 of the control unit I20 and as shown in the wiring diagram. When the contacts I52 and I53 are moved out of electrical connection with their complemental contacts I49 and I5I, the motor circuit is broken through the contacts I53 and I5I and the flow of current must therefore pass through the resistor I58 which adds sufiicient resistance in the motor circuit to reduce its speed to approximately 50 per cent of normal. As soon as the back pressure in feeder 94 is released the contacts I52 and I53 are again moved into electrical engagement with their complemental fixed 1 6 contacts I49 and I5I to thereby by-pass the current around the resistor I53, whereupon the motor will resume its normal speed.

The same applies should an obstruction occur in the service line or hose I I6 of feeder 95. Should this happen, the contacts I55 and I5? would automatically be moved out of electrical engagement with their complemental fixed contacts I54 and I55, whereupon the current would pass through the resistor III to thereby reduce the speed of the motor.

Should both service lines or hose H5 and IIS simultaneously become clogged or overloaded, the control switches I28 and I29 would be opened to thereby interpose both resistors I68 and I'll in the motor circuit, whereby the operation of the motor might be temporarily completely interrupted, in which condition it will remain until the overload on the feeders is partially or wholly removed.

It will thus be noted that the operation of the novel apparatus herein disclosed is largely automatic in operation. The travel of the horizontal conveyer I I is automatically interrupted at each end of its travel, and the manual starter switch ITI must be manually operated each time the conveyer is to be moved from one position to the other. The switch I91 provides means whereby the entire supply of current to the apparatus may be cut off, if desired.

In actual practice, it has been found that the wires I95 and I95 may be in the form of a conventional extension cord having a plug at its end whereby the cord may be readily plugged into a conventional electrical socket, where convenient.

When using the novel apparatus herein disclosed, the bulk insulating material is preferably loaded into the truck body or container by inserting a filler hose into the truck body, as indicated in Figure 1. The material may readily be blown into the truck body from a suitable storage pin or box car, which greatly reduces the cost of loading the truck, as compared to the usual method of transporting the material in bags, which necessitates first bagging it and then manually loading the bagged insulating material into a conventional truck and hauling it to the job, after which the bags must be individually hauled to unload them and to dump the contents of each bag into the hopper of a conventional blowing machine or apparatus. All of this additional labor is dispensed with by the employment of my improved apparatus. The material is simply blown into the truck body after which it is hauled to the job where it may then be automatically unloaded from the truck body and delivered to the service lines or hose at the proper rate of feed to prevent overloading the feed lines in the normal course of operation. The apparatus does not require an attendant except to manipulate the service or feed lines at; the point of delivery of rock wool into the wall spaces or other places to be supplied.

Conventional blowing machines are usually installed at one end of a truck and a hopper is provided, into which the rock wool is manually delivered by emptying the filled sacks into said hopper. All of this manual labor is entirely-dispensed with by the use of this apparatus and in addition the same truck is used for hauling the material from the source of supply to the job. It also well known that when blowing insulation into walls with a conventional machine, the operator must be alert at all times to be ready to withdraw the blowing nozzle from the wall in,

With the novel apparatus matic interruption of further delivery of material to the overloaded feeder by reason of the automatic closing of the gates H1. and H8 by the pneumatic control devices I20 and I30, and by reducing the speed of the conveyer drive motor 59 during such momentary overloading of one or both feeders, ashereinbefore disclosed. This in almost all cases means that as soon as an overload develops in one of the feeders, the supply of material is reduced or may be completely out off, but at the same time the supply of air to the hose line remains uninterrupted, whereupon, and in most all cases, the material which may-have commenced to clog the hose, is immediately blown therefrom whereupon the entire apparatus is again restored to normal operation.

As a result of the even feed of the apparatus herein disclosed, the wool blown into Wall spaces or into attics may be more uniform than is-possible to obtain with conventional hand fed machines. It has also been found that an apparatus as herein disclosed has a much greater capacity than a conventional machine and may be operated by one man as compared to the minimum number of three men now usually necessary to operate a conventional rock wool blowing machine of this general type.

In order that one man may operat two nozzles or hose lines, each hose is provided with a control valve 20!, located adjacent to the discharge nozzl 202, as indicated in Figure 1; The control valves 20! are important in that they provide an efiective means of controlling the operation of the entire apparatus by a workman standing upon a ladder or scaffolding or in some place remote from the machine. It should be understood that the speed of the conveyer I4 is such that the rate of discharge from the load into the chut Si is such that under normal operating conditions the feeders 94 and 95 readily handl the material supplied thereto from the conveyer. Clogging or overloading of the service lines I I5 and I Hi therefore seldom occurs because the rock wool is delivered to the feeders in a highly fluff and aerated condition, and at a uniform rate of flow,

whereby there is little or no danger of the feeding of the material from the truck body to the feeders being likely to cause overloadingof the feeders. Overloading, however, maybe caused as a result of wall spaces filling up whereby the material may momentarily partially or completely close the discharge nd of a nozzle, in which case a back pressure immediately develops in its respective feeder, thereby causing an automatic reduction in the flow of material to the overloaded feeder because of actuation of its control switch I28, as hereinbefore described.

As hereinbefore stated, when conditions are such that a single operator may manipulate two hose service lines, asingle operator may quickly unload. the material from the truck body or apparatus and. deliver it into wal-l spaces or other places to be supplied in a comparatively short eriod of time. The apparatus does not require an attendant as its operation is automatically controlled entirely by th flow of material through the nozzles 202. If at any time, the material tends to close one of the nozzles, the automatic controls are set into motion, and, in like manner, should the operator desire to reduce th flow of material to one or both of the nozzles 202, he may readily do so by simply partially or completely closing the valves 20l adjacent to the nozzles 202. If the two valves are completely closed, the entire machine will come to rest with the exception of the air supply means to the feeders 94 and '95, such as the .air pump I01, which will continue to function as it is not dependent upon the motor 59 for its operation. The air supply tank I08, however, is provided with an overload release valve I09 whereby when the discharge of air from the feeders to the service hose is interrupted, the excess air will be released to the atmosphere through the safety valve I09 of the air supply tank.

In the accompanying drawings and specification, the invention has been shown and described in the form of a practical embodiment in a conventional truck chassis. Numerous changes obviously may be made in the various mechanisms employed as, for example, instead of the electrically operated limit switches I43 and M4, mechanical devices might be employed for operating .a form of clutch mechanism for transmitting power from the speed reducer to the winding drum 41. In some cases it may also be found advisable to drive the speed reducer from the engine I0 5 or from the usual power take off shaft of the truck, not shown. V-belts might also be utilized in lieu of the chains l5 and I 6 which support the slats 26 of the conveyer l4,'a1ld obviously the arrangement of the lifting cables 28, 29, 32 and 33 which support the conveyer l4 within the truck body may be conceivably varied without departing from the scope of the invention.

Another important feature in the construction of this novel apparatus resides in the fact that the insulating material is confined within a closed chamber from the time it is loaded into the truck body at the source of supply, until it is projected or blown into the wall spaces or other places to be insulated. This is highly desirable because mineral or rock wool when handled as in this apparatus, that is, by scraping or dragging it from the top of the load and discharging or dumping it into the chute 9|, the finer dust-like particles of the rock wool have a tendency to rise and settl on surrounding surfaces if permitted to escape from the apparatus. By the employment of this apparatus the job of blowing the insulating material into the wall spaces may be accomplished substantially without dust which obviously makes the job a much cleaner One and it does not tend to jeopardize the health of the operators.

In conventional apparatus of this general type where the rock wool is dumped from bags into a hopper, there is a great deal of dust, a portion of which is obviously inhaled by the operators and then, too, it settles on surrounding objects which can be very undesirable.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that I have accomplished at least the principal objects of my invention, and it will also be apparentto those skilled in the art that the embodiments herein described may be variously changed and modified without departing from the pirit of the invention, and that the invention is capable of uses and has advantages not herein specifically describ d; hence it will be appreciated that the 19 herein disclosed embodiments are illustrative only, and that my invention is not limited thereto.

I claim as my invention:

1. In combination with an automotive truck, a body mounted thereon and providing a closed eontainer for receiving bulk granular insulating material, the rear wall of said container comprising a plurality of horizontally disposed telescoping wall sections whereby said wall is collapsible in a downward direction, a horizontal conveyer mounted within the truck body and having means for supporting it therein, and means for vertically translating the conveyer, the uppermost section of said rear wall being operatively connected to the conveyer whereby when the conveyer ascends to its uppermost position adjacent to the top wall of the truck body, the rear telescopic wall of the truck body is extended to provide an imperforate rear wall extending from the conveyer to the floor of the truck body, the upper edge of said wall being spaced from the conveyer to provide an elongated opening through which the truck body may be loaded or unloaded.

2. In combination with an automotive truck body defining a substantially closed chamber, the rear wall of said chamber being collapsible in a vertical direction, a conveyer mounted for vertical traveling movement in said chamber and being sized to overlie substantially the entire area of the top of the load in said chamber, means for supporting the conveyer adjacent to the top wall of th truck bod when loading the truck, means for operating the conveyer, means for gradually lowering the conveyer into direct engagement with the top of the mass of material within the truck body whereby the material is unloaded from the truck from the top of the load across the full width of the load, said rear wall gradually collapsing from its upper end in a downward direction as the conveyer moves downwardly, whereby the upper edge of said wall is always so disposed relative to the conveyer that the material is discharged from the truck body over the top of said rear wall, and an auxiliary drive whereby the conveyer may be returned to its uppermost position at a relatively higher rate of travel than when moving downwardly.

3. In combination with a substantially closed chamber, a horizontally disposed conveyer in said container mounted for vertical traveling movement therein, the size of said conveyer being substantially equal to the floor area of the container, means for supporting the conveyer adja cent to the top wall of the container when loading the container, means for driving the conveyer, means for gradually lowering the container into direct contact with the top of the mass of material within the container whereby the material is unloaded from the container from the top of the load across the full width of the load, and means for automatically interrupting the operation of the conveyer each time it reaches the limit of its traveling movement in either direction.

4. In combination with a substantially closed chamber, a horizontal conveyer mounted for vertical traveling movement in said body, a power device, a transmission for transmitting power from the power device to the conveyer and whereby the conveyer may be operated and simultaneously moved downwardly into unloading engagement with the bulk material in said body, stop means associated with the power device and operable by the conveyer for automatically interrupting the operation of the power device,

20 when theconveyer reaches the limit of its traveling movement in either direction and whereby the conveyer also is rendered inoperative, and

manually operable means for controlling the operation of the power device and the up and down travel of the conveyer.

5, In combination with a closed truck body, a

horizontal conveyer, means for supporting the conveyer for vertical traveling movement in said body, a power device, a drive for transmitting power from said power device to the conveyer and whereby the conveyer may be operated and simultaneously moved downwardly into unloading engagement with the bulk material in said body, stop means associated with the power device and operable by the conveyer for automatically interrupting the operation of the power device when the conveyer reaches the limit of its traveling movement in either direction and whereby the conveyer is rendered inoperative, and an auxiliary drive for transmitting power from the power device to the conveyer supporting means and whereby the conveyer may be returned to its uppermost position at a relatively higher rate of travel than when moving downwardly.

6. In combination with an automotive vehicle comprising a substantially closed body adapted to receive a load of granular insulating material such as rock wool, a conveyer mounted within said body, the size of said conveyer being substantially equal to the effective floor area of the body, eans for elevating the conveyer within said body, means whereby the conveyer may be temporarily retained in its uppermost position to permit loading the body, a power device. a

transmission having driving connections with the power device and conveyer for operating and vertically translating the conveyer, means for controlling the up and down travel of the conveyer and for causing the conveyer to come to rest at each end of its travel, a plurality of feeders for blowing insulating material into wall spaces and other places, and means for conducting the insulating material from the discharge end of the vehicle body to the feeders in a uniformly controlled flow.

7. In an apparatus for handling bulk granular insulating material such as rock wool, a portable body whose walls define an enlarged substantially closed chamber, a conveyer mounted within said chamber, the size of said conveyer being substantially equal to the efiective floor area of the chamber, a vertically movable horizontal conveyer within said chamber, power means for vertically translating the conveyer in said chamber and whereby the conveyor may be temporarily supporting the conveyer in its uppermost position to permit loading the chamber, means for controlling the up and down travel of the conveyer and for causing the conveyer to come to rest at each end of its travel, a plurality of feeders for blowing insulating material into wall spaces and other places, means for conducting the insulating material from the discharge end of the chamber to the feeders, and means mounted on said feeders and operatively associated with the power means for automatically reducing or interrupting operation of the power means in the event one or more of said feeders become overloaded, said control means automatically being rendered inoperative to retard operation of the power means when the overload is released.

8. In combination with a closed truck body, a horizontally disposed conveyer mounted therein and vertically movable within said body, a chute into which the material is discharged from the truck body by the conveyer, feeders in communication with the chute and adapted to receive insulating material therefrom, means for supplying air pressure to the feeders to conduct the insulating material therefrom through the usual feeder hose lines by air pressure, an electric motor for operating the conveyer and for vertically translating it within said body, control devices on the feeders for partially or wholly interrupting the operation of the motor in the event one or more of the feeders temporarily become overloaded,- said control means being actuated by back pressure in the feeders Whereby when the back pressure is released from said feeders, the control devices when restored to normal operation will automatically efiect normal operation of the motor and conveyer.

9. In combination with a closed truck body, a horizontally disposed conveyer mounted therein and vertically movable within said body, a chute into which the material is discharged from the truck body by the conveyer, the rear wall of the truck body being composed of a plurality of interconnected telescoping sections which are operable by vertical movement of the conveyer to vary the height of said wall in accordance to the height of the conveyer within the truck body, and whereby th top of said rear wall will remain in fixed relation to the conveyer and whereby the insulating material contained in. said body may be discharged over the top of said rear wall by the conveyer, feeders in communication with the chute and adapted to receive insulating material therefrom, means for supplying air pressure to the feeders to conduct the insulating material therefrom through the usual feeder hose lines by air pressure, an electric motor for operating the conveyer and for vertically translating it within said body, control devices on the feeders for artially or wholly interrupting the operation of the motor in the event one or more of the feeders temporarily become overloaded, said control means being actuated by back pressure in the feeders whereby when the back pressure is released from said feeders, the control devices when restored to normal operation will automatically effect normal operation 0 supported in fixed relation to the conveyer and spaced slightly downwardly therefrom to permit the insulating material in said chamber to be discharged therefrom over the top of said rear wall by the conveyer, and said rear wall being composed of a plurality of interconnected horizontal wall sections whereby said Wall may collapse vertically, and its top edge move downwardly simultaneously with the conveyer, to maintain a space between the top of said rear wall and the conveyer through which the chamber may be filled or unloaded.

11. In a mobile apparatus for handling bulk material such as granular rock or mineral wool,

a body defining a closed chamber, a horizontally disposed conveyer mounted for vertical traveling movement in said chamber, th size of said conveyer being substantially equal to the effective area of the floor of said chamber, said chamber having a vertically collapsible rear wall, the upper edge portion of which is supported in fixed relation to the conveyer and spaced slightly downwardly therefrom to permit the insulating material in said chamber to be discharged therefrom over the top of said rear wall by the conveyer, the spacing between the top of said rear wall and the conveyer also permitting the chamber to be loaded with a fresh supply of insulating material, when the conveyer is in an upper position, a power device for driving the conveyer and whereby the conveyer may be vertically translated in said chamber, and means adjacent to said rear wall for receiving the insulating material discharged from the chamber by the conveyer and delivering it to a suitable apparatus for blowing the insulating material into a wall or other receiving means.

HARRY C. CHAMBERLIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the -file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 892,593 Keller July 7, 1908 1,141,113 Gambee June 1, 1915 1,263,035 Casler Apr. 16, 1918 1,450,903 Newhouse Apr. 3, 1923 1,479,990 Keys Jan. 8, 1924 1,570,360 Lippoldt Jan. 19, 1926 1,778,393 Klugh Oct. 14, 1930 2,052,169 Darden Aug. 25, 1936 2,131,305 Shaw Sept. 27, 1938 2,311,773 Patterson Feb. 23, 1943 

